Spells of Old (Ancient Dreams Book 2)

by Benjamin Medrano

  “Is there any word about pursuit or intercepting the raiders?” Diane finally asked, looking at the map and frowning.

  The map showed northern Yisara, as well as all the major forces they knew of. Kelvanis outnumbered her defenders, but the forest and defensive fortifications did a good job of evening the field of battle, enough that even the orc shock troops that their enemy employed were reluctant to engage directly. The border was also much shorter than the one between Kelvanis and Sifaren, with only eighty miles between the Godsrage Mountains and the Serpentspine range to the east. It was no wonder that Kelvanis had focused on their northern ally instead.

  “I’m not sure there are any forces that we could gather in time. Our best bet are the border garrisons, but I suspect that the raiders will be following the foothills of the Godsrage Mountains to the border. Just across the border is the largest concentration of Kelvanis’ army, and if I were to conduct such a raid, I’d hit our border at the same time as their raiders are trying to cross,” General Skyreach replied, tracing the route on the map. “We very well may be able to intercept them with the garrisons, but I’m not sure that we can get word to them in time. The raiders reportedly had many horses on hand, and with the delay before we reached word… well, I sent out messages immediately, but I’m not sure, Your Majesty. We’ll do everything that we can to save those captured.”

  “Thank you, General,” the queen spoke softly, and as she looked at the map, Torkal reached out and took a hand, squeezing it gently.

  Jaine let out a soft whimper as she squirmed in her restraints. Her muscles were sore, her arms ached, and she was both hungry and thirsty. Her captors had been none too gentle so far, and they’d been far more focused on continuing moving rather than taking care of her or the others.

  Right now they were stopped, having rested for a few hours of the night in the forest, the mountains looming nearby. The soldiers hadn’t honestly mistreated any of their captives, but Jaine had only seen a few others so far, and her heart had sunk as she realized that most of them were heirs to different noble houses. She was an exception to that, which only heightened her anxiety.

  The only bright spot was how nervous and upset their captors were. Jaine could only hope that it meant that they were close to being rescued. So she squirmed into a position that was slightly more comfortable for the moment, and closed her eyes to start praying for deliverance.

  She was still praying when her captors came to tie her to a horse before they continued onward.

  Ulvian looked down into the city square and smiled as he watched a handful more people, primarily slaves, walk into the old temple of Vandor. The faith had fallen out of favor when Ulvian had taken over ruling the nation, and about ten years before he’d taken over their temple. Certain that he’d eventually have a use for the building, he’d kept it maintained, though without the old religious iconography. And useful it had proven to be.

  Elissa had quickly gotten to work on his request, claiming the temple for the sorceress to begin her schemes. Making a brand that was properly subordinate to Medaea’s had been the trickiest part of the woman’s requests, but fortunately Ulvian had been preparing one in anticipation of the deity’s corruption, which had certainly helped.

  “Not Medaea… Tyria,” Ulvian murmured under his breath, trying to fix the new name in his mind. Trying to change the name of the goddess was a brilliant plan, and only truly possible if they could gain worshippers for her. Which was why Elissa was beginning services as a new high priestess of Lady Tyria Eminence, or the Slave Goddess.

  Allowing slaves in the palace to attend services and giving them a break from their normal duties had certainly boosted the initial attendance of Elissa’s temple. Most likely it was just a desire to get away from the palace that had gotten any of the slaves to go, but Ulvian was certain that Elissa’s persuasive voice would slowly sway some of them to worship this new goddess, even if she did emphasize that slaves should serve worthy masters.

  Taking a last look, Ulvian smiled, then turned to return to his duties. Soon enough he’d have word from Justicar Hall, and they could continue from there.

  Diamond closed her eyes in pain as the temple collapsed inward on itself.

  “Painful, isn’t it?” Ruby asked, giving her a hug as Diamond leaned into her friend. “We spent so long there, protecting the temple… and now, we’re forced to destroy it.”

  “There’s no other real option,” Diamond spoke heavily, her head half-bowed as she opened her eyes again. “Disrupting the node will only help for a decade at most. If we left the temple, Kelvanis could have garrisoned it and used it in years to come. Besides, its primary purpose has passed.”

  “It still hurts.” Emerald’s voice was soft as she stood nearby.

  “It does. It does,” Diamond replied quietly. “At least Archpriestess Nadis will know that something is wrong, now that I’ve passed her the mantle.”

  “You shouldn’t have had to pass her the mantle.” Ruby’s voice was soft. “You’ve been an excellent leader.”

  “I’ve been a leader in name only. She was the one who truly ran the church,” Diamond corrected, shaking her head firmly. “It doesn’t matter anyway. What’s done is done. What of the wardstones?”

  “The keystone has been destroyed,” Amethyst spoke from nearby. “We’re ready to leave, Diamond.”

  Turning to look at the gathered priestesses from the temple, Diamond considered for a moment before looking at Lirisel and commenting, “I’m somewhat surprised that no one wanted to go back to Yisara, instead of coming with us. You have no assurance that we haven’t been suborned in some manner, after all.”

  “We’re going with you because we trust you,” Lirisel replied, shrugging gently. “You each know enough minor events that we know you are who you claim to be. The ritual that is often used to end ongoing orders hasn’t had any effect on any of you. And most importantly of all, when we had all but given up hope, you rescued us. We’ll go with you, that we might have the merest chance at true freedom once more.”

  “I… I’m glad all of you feel that way. But we had best escape while we can. We have to reach Sistina before word of what happened here can spread,” Diamond replied, her back straightening as she looked back at the rubble of her longtime home one last time. And then she nodded to the others.

  The horses that had once been intended to take all of them to slavery instead carried all the sacred texts and relics they could manage to gather, as well as the priestesses themselves, toward what Diamond believed would be a newfound life for them all.

  Chapter 23

  “Are you certain, Daniel?” Lieutenant Tarys asked, frowning at him.

  Daniel was in the lieutenant’s office, and sitting on the desk were his insignias and all the equipment Kelvanis had issued him. The lieutenant didn’t look terribly pleased, but he found it hard to sympathize with her, considering everything that had happened.

  “I’m sure, Lieutenant. I’ve been off-duty for the better part of a month and a half now, and I can’t afford to keep sitting here, waiting to see if the army wants me back or not,” Daniel replied, shrugging helplessly. “I’m planning to join the Adventuring Guild, then to become a proper adventurer. If I was still a member of the army, I think it’d be a conflict of interests. Besides, has there been any indication that I might be allowed back on duty?”

  “Unfortunately, it hasn’t been my decision, Daniel. If it had been, I wouldn’t ever have suspended you,” Tarys told him, seeming mildly annoyed at the prospect. “You’re the best shot in the company, and one of the few who never caused any trouble on leave. But unfortunately, I haven’t heard anything about allowing you back on duty. Which is a damned shame.”

  “I can agree there.” Smirking, Daniel shook his head. That was about what he’d expected, to be honest. Tarys was a good commander, but Evansly was paranoid about his position, so Daniel wasn’t surprised the newly minted Lord was trying to cover his ass. “Still, I promise I won’t ta
lk about what’s going on. Hells, everyone in town knows that a group of the soldiers that went in with the Adjudicator came out and are being held for the Justicar. I don’t know any more than they do, so it isn’t like I can even leak anything important.”

  Tarys sighed, scolding him in a serious tone. “Don’t even joke about that, Daniel. The higher ups are really uptight at the moment, and I don’t want you getting in trouble.”

  “Sorry, sorry… so what do you think? Are you going to accept my resignation?” Daniel asked.

  “Of course I am. It isn’t fair to leave you wondering for as long as we have.” The lieutenant sighed, turning to him as she smiled slightly. “In fact, I sometimes wonder if you haven’t made the wiser decision with the dungeon. I do hope you’ll be careful, though.”

  “Great! So, what do I need to do?” Daniel asked, smiling in relief at the brunette.

  “I just need you to sign a few papers, then you’re free to go,” Tarys replied, and began fishing out the paperwork in question.

  Pausing in front of the Adventurer’s Guild, Daniel took a deep breath, looking up at the sign for a moment, then up and down the street.

  Granite Point was coming along rather well for not having existed the previous spring. The smithy had just been finished, as had an apothecary's shop, a second tavern, and dozens of houses. There was a temple that was coming along quickly, though he wasn’t entirely certain which faith it would be dedicated to, off-hand. Probably Tianna, since the goddess of luck would be appropriate for a dungeon. There was also a brothel and auction house, but those were barely approaching completion.

  “You going inside, Danny?” Darak’s voice startled Daniel out of his introspection, making him turn to look at the dwarf.

  Darak was grinning as he held what looked like an entire smoked ham. Though he was uncertain exactly what Darak had planned, Daniel smiled and shook his head. “Yeah. Sorry for blocking the way, Darak. I was just woolgathering a little.”

  “Oh? Did you drop out of the army, army boy?” Darak asked, his eyebrows rising slightly. “You mentioned that you might.”

  “I did,” Daniel admitted, shaking his head. “It was… well, part of me is satisfied since I wasn’t even getting paid. Another part of me is scared, since I just left a job that at least paid decently in addition to giving food and lodging.”

  “Huh. I suppose I can see that,” Darak mused, obviously pondering the subject for a minute. Eventually he just shrugged slightly. “Dunno what to tell you, Danny. Hey, just come inside, let’s get you registered with the guild. You still want to, right?”

  “Of course I do! I wouldn’t have left the army if I didn’t intend to,” Daniel replied quickly, and opened the door to step into the guild proper.

  “Good. I’d hate to have to kick your arse for breaking a promise.” Darak chuckled, following him in. Daniel didn’t answer, instead looking around the guild with some interest. It was actually his second time inside, but the first time there had been almost no furnishings.

  The entrance of the guild took up about half of the first floor of the guild house, with most of the open space to his left looking almost like a comfortable tavern area, complete with a server. Ahead of him was a desk with a middle-aged human man sitting behind it. Considering this was the Adventurer’s Guild, Daniel was amused to see the man was almost perfectly average, with brown hair, a trimmed beard, and brown eyes. To the right was a sign over a door, stating ‘Alchemy, Appraisal, and Equipment.’

  “Hey Paul! This is the last of those newbies we’re sponsoring,” Darak called out, and the man behind the desk looked up, his eyebrows rising.

  “Oh? Well, come on over. Let’s get you signed up,” the man replied congenially, smiling as he sat upright and looked Daniel over.

  “Okay. So how does this all work?” Daniel asked, stepping over to the man nervously.

  “It’s actually fairly simple. Darak already paid your registration fee, otherwise you’d be looking at five silver marks there,” Paul explained, nodding in the direction of the dwarf, who was taking the ham over to the server. Daniel cringed slightly at the cost of registration, but nodded as the man continued. “We get your name, your basic skills, and have you attune a lifestone. Your silver covers all that and a bit of basic training, especially with magic. No one ends up without some magic in the dungeons in the end.”

  “What’s a lifestone?” Daniel asked, blinking. “I haven’t heard of those before.”

  “Right, give me a second…” Paul stepped away from the desk and leaned over. There was the sound of something unlocking, and then the man straightened, placing a small piece of quartz crystal on the desk, faint inscriptions carved into its surface. The man explained as he gestured at it. “This is a lifestone. It’s a fairly simple enchanted object that can be used once. You’ll drip blood on it, then it lights up internally. The color varies depending on what type of magic you’re most attuned to, but the real purpose is that if you die, the light goes out. This lets us realize if a group who entered the dungeon was seriously injured and allows potential rescue parties to be dispatched. If the light goes out, though, the stone can’t be used again and you need a new one. Assuming we manage to revive you.”

  “Huh. That… well, I suppose that makes a lot of sense. It’s a dangerous job, after all,” Daniel admitted, somewhat fascinated by the idea. “Too bad we don’t have anyone who can revive us in town yet. That would be nice.”

  “Yes, it is. So anyway, what’s your name and skill set?” Paul asked, pulling out an inkpen and removing the stopper of the inkwell.

  “Daniel Fisher, of Cliffport,” Daniel replied, patting his crossbow as he added, “I’m a modest hand with most swords, and an excellent shot. Trained soldier from Kelvanis, though that seems to be of limited help in the dungeon.”

  “Right. Decent with swords, good with ranged, all initiate grade,” Paul replied, nodding to himself. “That sound about right, Darak?”

  “Yup. His group could probably just barely get through the first floor with a couple of potions, but it’d be close,” Darak replied, having sent the ham into the back with the server. He meandered over as he added, grinning, “No offense, Danny, but you aren’t that good.”

  “None taken.” Daniel smiled slightly, shaking his head. “If nothing else, you and Penelope disabused us of that notion a few weeks ago.”

  “I think that’s everything there. So, all I need is you to sign here, and then get a drop of blood on your lifestone,” Paul finished, offering a paper with the basic details he’d jotted down, as well as the inkpen. Glancing over it, Daniel nodded and signed his unsteady scribble, and took a proffered pin. Wincing, he pierced the tip of a finger just enough to draw blood, and let the drop fall onto the stone.

  The stone glittered, absorbing the blood. A moment later, a soft blue-white glow began to emanate from the stone, visible and barely enough to light the surrounding wood. Daniel blinked, then asked, “So, umm… what magic type does that represent?”

  “Heh. Looks like you’re going to be best with air magic, Danny. That and water, from the glow.” Darak chuckled, shaking his head. “I’m solidly earth, so I’m not going to be much help. Penelope would be the one you want to talk to.”

  Daniel’s smile faded at the explanation, and he winced. “Penelope? Oh, how… lovely.”

  Both other men laughed at the expression on his face, and Darak replied with a grin, “You’ll live, Danny. Whether you like it or not.”

  “Great! You’re finally at the point that most mages would be willing to call you an apprentice!” Desa told Phynis with a grin, and the younger woman winced at the comment.

  “That isn’t terribly comforting, Desa. Was I really that bad?” Phynis asked plaintively, looking at the small ball of flames dancing above her hand.

  “Yes. Yes, you were,” Desa replied with a smirk. “Your problem is just that you had too much power. Most students have trouble powering the spells, and after a few times can manage it barely,
while you? You kept blowing up the spells when you fed too much mana into them.”

  “I suppose. I just don’t know that I’m ever going to get good at spellcasting.” Phynis sighed, slumping back in her chair as she cut off the flow of mana to the spell, letting the spark dwindle, then go out. “It’s just so hard.”

  “It’s just practice. You picked it up fairly quickly, so give it a century, and you’ll be at least as good as any spellcaster in Sifaren. Maybe even better, with your mana reserves. And that’s if you study it casually,” Desa told her, smiling as she got up, stretching. “If you really try, I bet you’ll manage it faster, especially if you keep living here. The mana in the air does wonders for mages.”

  Phynis sighed, getting up as well. Smiling at her guard, she nodded slightly. “I suppose you’re right. I just feel like I’m not doing well. At least I know Sistina isn’t going to kick me out of here.”

  “Very true. She even made you a nice bedroom near her tree,” Desa teased, grinning.

  Flushing at the teasing, Phynis looked away and murmured, “It was very nice of her. I enjoy the gift.”

  “Of course you do,” Desa replied, a knowing smile on her face. Phynis decided to ignore the comment and retreat to somewhere with other people around. Desa wouldn’t tease her if they weren’t in private. As she retreated, Desa added, a bit more loudly, “Just make sure you shut the door fully next time.”

  At that, Phynis turned beet red and all but ran from the empty cavern as Desa began to giggle.

  Chapter 24

  The faint sounds of horns, as well as the occasional explosions, indicated that a fierce battle was occurring up ahead. The sounds filled Major Thompson with relief as he muttered under his breath, “At least something in this entire mess went right!”